Far away from home
by Ragerambagerumle
Summary: How Balthier met Fran and how they became skypirates.


This is my first over 400 marks long story. I have used this more time that I have ever used to anything, rewiews would be nice :)**  
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**And yes. I don´t own characters or any other stuff from Final Fantasy XII**_.  
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><p><em>This is for people who doesn´t found freedom yet. Keep searching!<br>__PS: I Don´t mean you should be Skypirates!_

Balthier almost ran into Cid´s office. Cid has finally decided that he was old enough to join Cid´s business. Balthier knew that Cid wouldn´t give him anything important job in hes Trade Empire, but it was a start. He stopped behind the office´s door. He knocked. Nothing happend. Door looked quite thick, maybe Cid didn´t heard his knocking. Balthier knokked again little harder. Nothing happend. Balthier thought that it would be inpolite just rush into room, so he knokked once again, really hard this time. Nothing happend. Maybe Cid weren´t in his office, but why did he sent the servant to ask Balthier if he weren´t reachable? Balthier sat down waiting and noticed few purple flowers in crystalglass on the waitingroom´s table. He threw flowers and water out from the glas and hid them under waitingroom´s carpet. Balthier pressed glass against the office door, then he pressed hes ear against the glass and listened. Words... they weren´t clear so he couldn´t understand them, but words they were. Then he heard something else, steps. Someone walking with ironboots, perhaps an imperial guard, steps came closer, behind him. Balthier hid the glass into his pocket just before Judge became visible behind the corner.  
>"I have already knocked, so perhaps we should wait... ugh!" Judge pushed him out of the way, opened office door with single sweep, and marched in. Balthier followed him into the room.<p>

Cid were speaking in hes cellphone. When he has finished, he simply dismissed Balthier and started chatting with Judge. Balthier was so tired that important looking peoples just passed him. He almost suspend Cid´s and Judge´s palaver when he suddenly heard word "skypirate".  
>"We have new information about that group of skypirates. Thanks to our spy in Nalbina Fortres, we now know that person named "Old Dallan" invites skypirates all around Ivalice in hes pirate navy. Their ranks are growing but they don´t dare attack against imperial battleships, yet. We have just lost one of our tradeships, so it would be better send guardships with them until this "Dallan" is imprisoned."<br>"Rozarria won´t let us move our forces in Nalbina, you know that."  
>"Our young Consulor Vayne Solidor search way to start war with Rozarria. If Rozarria won´t let us go to Nalbina, Vayne could claim he support these skypirates against our empire. Then he would got hes war."<br>"If we got war upon us, we should debloy to weaponary and armoury."  
>"I´m here just to oder stop trade-contacts with Rozaria. Our fleets get soon to Nalbina."<br>"You can leave."

After the door was closed, Balthier marched in front of Cid´s table. "You askt me?"  
>"Yes nearly an hour ago. We will talk about this later."<br>"But I knocked many times and-"  
>"You wanted in my business, huh? I send you to Mt Bur-Omisace, there you oder all my merchants retreat to Archades. Jagd Ramooda is in principle under control of Rozarria. If the war comes, they will confiscate all my supplies for supporting Rozarrian army. You understand this?"<br>"Of course, I just-"  
>"My tradeship leave Archades inside an hour, you go with it"<br>"Sure thing. But what if-"  
>"What you have in you pocket?"<br>"This? Um... This is just-"  
>"You have stole crystal glass from your own father?"<br>"No way! I just-"  
>"We will talk about this later. You can leave."<p>

Balthier cheered up a little bit, when he saw hes tradeship. It was big, long and slow as all tradeships, but it was under Balthier´s command. He walked to the commandbridge and imaged himself flying this ship. Ofcourse Balthier was only captain and pilots would take care about flying, but being captain felt somehow... important. Perhaps Cid doesn´t respect Balthier, cause he weren´t done anything important. There have to come change to that. Balthier promised to himself, that he would do something important before this trip would be over.  
>"With your permission, captain, we are ready to start our engines." Balthier turned around. Very tall, important looking person, perhaps one of ship´s officers, looked down to him waiting answer.<br>"Huh? Oh... Sure. Let´s get going, right!"  
>Very important looking person bowed to him and marched away to giving oders. Now Balthier truly relaised that he was on rule. Captain. The Boss. Ha Haa! He ran into deck odering everyone to do something. "Yes sir!", "Yes captain!", "Right away captain Balthier!". Balthier ran to upest deck and stopped behind the door of officers chamber. He almost knocked when he heard voice behind him. "I have already knocked, perhaps we should wait." Speaker was saylor behind him in the waitingroom. Suddenly Balthier remembered Judge. Balthier act, opened door with single sweep, and marched in. That felt awesome! He smiled, when he noticed that saylor followed him in to the chamber and stoped right after door, waiting hes own turn. That was the moment when Balthier relaised that freedom doesn´t mean living in peace. It means that you can do what ever you want without anyone could stop you. Balthier definitely wanted freedom.<br>Next few hours Balthier spend in officers chamber, enjoying giving oders and doing important people things.

Ship shaked. First Balthier thought it was just an air pocket. Until all the widows exploded inwards. Air pockets doesn´t broke windows. Alert. Officers ran to door, but few of them flyed out from the broked windows by airflow. Balthier maked safe to corridor. "Foes? Skypirates?".  
>"Surrender and no one get hurt, we only want your cargo."<br>"So Skypirates. Looks like they control our radio, so no help arrive." Corridors radio continued asking Balthier´s ship to surrender. Balthier ran up to deck when another bomb exploded, shock wave broke last of ship´s glass. Balthier fall on the deck, glass shard on hes calf. Then he saw them, at least twenty skyships sieged Balthier´s tradeship. He hobble back under the deck when hooks striked in ship and pirates landed on deck. Balthier relaised he wasn´t free anymore. He was the captain. Responsible was his. He never even really tasted freedom, cause now he knew that freedom also meaned that you aren´t responsible for anything. And because he was the captain, he was in biggest danger right now. Balthier arrived to ship´s hangair and successfully found an light aircraft what still has an undamaged cab. Two skypirates ran to him, first tryed to shoot him with hes Vega, but bullets couldn´t broke the cabins dome. Hangair´s gateway opened and Balthier was on the sky. He knew what Cid would say to him when he would get back to Archades, _"We will talk about this later..."_. Balthier was slightly jealous of skypirates, cause they weren´t responible for anything, or propably responsible of all this, but not responsible for them self, was that freedom?

Those two pirates were now behind him. They have also taked aircrafts from hangair. Two missiles flyed toward Balthier´s ship. Balthier dodged easilly the first one, but the glass sharp in hes calf disturbed hes flying and missile hit left wing of Balthier´s aircraft. Wildly spinning he crashed down in Golmore Jungle.

_Working on next chapter..._


End file.
